Hello all,
I've been a follower of this forum for years, planning to teach abroad and then getting delayed by a health crisis. I know this is the best place to get advice, so if you could give me some feedback on my plan and a few specific questions, I would really be grateful.

I'm hoping to go to the north of Brazil in January and complete a CELTA course (either Recife, Joao Pessoa, or Natal -whichever is actually offering the program. It's been two weeks and so far none of them has responded). I wanted to do CELTA specifically because I want to open up possibilities incase I want to continue to teach abroad in other countries.

I've saved up some money since I've read on here that teaching in Brazil is more about breaking even than making money. Primarily I want to go to Brazil to get the certificate, work on my porguese skills (I took two courses 7 years ago in college but was never anywhere near fluent), and work on my capoeira skills. But I have some questions/concerns, of course.

1.) How easy is it to find work (either in schools or tutoring) in the north?

2.) All of the programs that offer CELTA are cultura inglesa. Does anyone know how good they are with helping graduates find work?

3.) As far as booking a ticket, do I have to book a return for 3 months, or can I assume that I'll be able to get the visa extension (and can I get the extension in the north or do I have to go to Rio)?

4.) What sites/sources do Brazilian usually use to find cheap housing?

5.) Is it ok to bring more expensive electronics, or is that kind of asking for theft? (I have a netbook but I was thinking about buying a nice laptop to be able to watch videos and do photo editing, maybe video editing)

I also just found out today that CELTA won't be offered until July - so if I want to get going by January/February, I would have to take a 2 week TEFL from Cultura Inglesa. Not sure how valid that would be internationally...

I've been living and teaching Salvador, Bahia for a few years, so hopefully I can answer some of your questions.

1. Native speaking teachers are in high demand in the north/northeast, but it may take some time and persistence. You really need to market yourself and put out the word that you're a teacher offering classes. I arrived in June, sent out applications, interviewed and was hired in July, and started the semester in August.

2. I have no experience with Cultura Inglesa, sorry! All I know is that they're a large and pretty respected school. Not sure how they treat their teachers; I don't know anyone who works there, unfortunately.

3. I've always booked a ticket for 3 months and then extended it, to be on the safe side. You won't need to travel to another city to extend it; you can do it at the Policia Federal unit in your city.

4. Word of mouth I know sites exist (just try googling something like apartamentos para alugar + [name of city]) but I've always found places through another person. Once you're here, looking in the newspaper classifieds is also a good bet. There are a number of people who rent out inexpensive rooms to college students, for example.

5. You can bring 'em. I have a laptop, netbook, and iPhone. The first two stay in my house and the iPhone I bring everywhere. As long as your living situation is reasonably secure, and you're not, for example, watching movies on your netbook while on public transportation (I can't get over the fact that people in NYC do this!) it's not a huge risk. If you really want to be conscientious, you could store your electronics in a hidden place every time you leave the house, but my impression is that most theft happens on the street as opposed to break-ins.

6. I suspect Cultura Inglesa's TEFL is probably pretty specific to Cultura Inglesa's methodology, so you're probably right, it may not count for much internationally.

7. Small world, I'm also a capoeirista To be honest, making a decent living teaching can make training tough. Most English students work 9-5 jobs and will want class either before work or (more commonly) in the evenings. If you teach for 3 hours every weekday night, you'll make R$1500/month (assuming R$25/hour) which is okay but not great for living in a city.

Luckily my capo academy had some classes at noon, but I still got frustrated by having all my nights taken up by teaching. If you're able to take on extra work in the U.S., save up money, and just come to Brazil for a few months to live, learn Portuguese, and train, it's less stressful.

Anyway, for another glimpse into teaching in Brazil, you might enjoy these posts: